


bobbins

by steviesbucks



Series: monkeying around [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel
Genre: Coffee Shops, F/M, Fluff, Leo Fitz Is Bad At Flirting, Nicknames, No Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviesbucks/pseuds/steviesbucks
Summary: His usual stomping ground was Starbucks; expensive but you knew what you were getting, pumped with enough sugar to get him through to 6:30 when he closed up the shop. For whatever reason, he’d decided to go into a more local establishment. The Bus had been open for about 6 months but he hadn’t popped in before then. He didn’t see any problems with his current arrangement at Starbucks - there was nothing wrong with it. He walked past the shop, however, pushing the doors to the café open.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: monkeying around [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877896
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	bobbins

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Sorry for the huge wait between parts- I wanted to wait until I at least had another part written to post this but impatience got the better of me! I hope you enjoy.   
> As always, massive thanks to my betas [hazzarat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazzarat) and [showzen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/showzen) !! I couldn't write without y'all <3

Fitz always closed the shop between 12:30 and 2:00 so he could go and get some dinner and stretch his legs. He’d usually be able to leave it open if his mother was there but she was currently on holiday so he had to close up for a while. It was nice to have a break, honestly. Standing around all day meant he often had sore knees and that was best remedied by a cup of tea and maybe a muffin if he was feeling cheeky. 

His usual stomping ground was Starbucks; expensive but you knew what you were getting, pumped with enough sugar to get him through to 6:30 when he closed up the shop. For whatever reason, he’d decided to go into a more local establishment. The Bus had been open for about 6 months but he hadn’t popped in before then. He didn’t see any problems with his current arrangement at Starbucks - there was nothing  _ wrong _ with it. He walked past the shop, however, pushing the doors to the café open.

The atmosphere was homely, photos of cars and pretty landscapes up on the walls. The walls themselves were cream painted bricks with some of the bricks patterned with stripes or dots in different colours. All the tables were painted the same bright colours that were on the walls, the chairs the same cream as the base bricks. It was a very lovely place- he could tell whoever owned this place really did care a lot about presentation and the impression it left on their customers. He made his way to the counter; whoever was behind it was turned away from him. 

“Hi! Welcome to The Bus, what can I get for you today?” The worker turned around, and-

“Jemma?”    
  
“Fitz? Hi! Gosh, didn’t expect to see you here today-” Jemma had her hair tied up and in a cap, exposing all of the freckles spotted across her face. Her eyes were open and friendly, her grin scrunching up her nose in a way that left Fitz unable to do anything but smile too. Jemma was gorgeous, anybody could see that as soon as they met her, but she had a way of lighting up a room. Fitz knew he shouldn’t really think that way about a woman he barely knew but was reluctant to  _ stop  _ thinking about how beautiful Jemma Simmons was. That was probably a bit weird.

He shook his head a little, realising he hadn’t replied to her. “I don’t usually come here, just thought I needed a change from Starbucks every day.” 

“I might be a little biased but I think we’re tons better than Starbucks,” she teased, turning to the till. “Now, what can I get for you?”    
  
“I think I’ll have.. one tea and a blueberry muffin, please, Jemma.”    
  
“Coming right up! Taking it with you or sitting in?” She bobbed down in front of the display case, using some tongs to grab a muffin out. It looked homemade and fresh; Fitz was excited. 

“I think I’ll sit in, thanks.”    
  
Jemma placed his muffin on a plate and put that on the counter. Fitz pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, ready to pay. “Is there anything else you want? Toastie, sausage roll, sandwich?” 

He thought about it a little and he  _ was _ quite hungry - one sandwich wouldn’t hurt. “Well… I suppose maybe I could squeeze a sandwich in. Any recommendations?” 

“We actually make all our sandwiches fresh- you tell me what you want and I’ll see what I can do.” 

“How about you surprise me? I like meat with dairy and a little bit of spice- not too much, though, if that’s alright.” Fitz realised this was a little bit weird and he probably should’ve given Jemma more direction, but- he’d done it now. Hopefully he’d like what she made and didn’t accidentally hurt her feelings. 

“I can do that, sure. Cash or card?”    
  
“Cash, thanks-”    
  
“£7.50, please!” Jemma was still grinning, lighting up the room much more than the lampshades around the café. He handed over the money, dropping £1 into the tip jar. He didn’t miss the way she lit up even more if possible, radiating gratefulness. 

“Thanks, Jemma. So… if you don’t mind me asking- where’s Layla while you work?” 

_ “I’m right here! Hi, Mr Shopkeeper!”  _

_ “Oh! Uh- Hello!”  _ Fitz squeaked- Layla was suddenly at his side, stretching to look up at her mum who was still standing behind the counter. She’d seemingly forgot he was there at all.

“Mummy, I’m  _ tired _ .”    
  
“Why don’t you go have a nap on the comfy seats?” 

“Will Mr Phil mind?”    
  
Jemma shook her head, reaching over the counter a little to run a hand over her hair, trying to tame some of the wilder flyaways. Layla just shook her head after, rubbing her eyes with closed fists. “I’m going to have to sleep for eleventyhundred years because I’m  _ very _ sleepy.”

She was so sincere about it; Fitz really tried not to laugh. Her mum was smiling fondly, leaning over the counter (but being careful to not knock the muffin off) to kiss her daughter on the head, squeezing her shoulders gently. “You go have a nap, darling. I’ll wake you up 10 minutes before we’re going to leave, alright?”   


Layla nodded, yawning and rubbing her eyes once more. “Mhm, nap… love you, mummy.”    
  
“Love you too, sweetheart. Night night for now?”    
  
“Night night for now.” She paused for a minute, thinking, before reaching to pull something out of the little rucksack she was holding. Layla pulled out the monkey Jemma had bought the other week- it filled Fitz with an odd sense of pride to think that she kept it with her when she went out, glad he could make her something that made her happy. 

Jemma tilted her head a little, nodding down at the monkey. “Mr Tickles needs a goodnight kiss too?” 

“He won’t sleep without one.” She was very sincere once more, her face the picture of serious concern. She only smiled again once her mum had pressed a little kiss to the teddy’s head. She skipped off after that, curling up on the seats of a plush booth further towards the back to have a nap. 

Jemma sighed a little when she was gone, making her way over to a kettle behind the counter. “I’m so sorry, she usually doesn’t come up when I’m actually serving somebody- I’ll have everything done very soon.”    
  
“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. Poor bobbins- being tired is never nice.” 

“-Pardon?” Jemma replied, looking at Fitz like he’d grown another head. Maybe he had. Her look was  _ very  _ convincing. Had he mucked this up?    
  
“Well, y’know, being tired- you get all uncomfortable and your head hurts and kids don’t really-”    
  
“No, I understood that bit, just- bobbins? What’s that?”    
  
Uh oh. He didn’t even realise he’d said that until she pointed it out. What if she thought he was some weirdo who called kids  _ bobbins _ and smiled like a creep? He was weird but not  _ that _ type of weird- he was perfectly safe to be around! “Well- it’s something my mum used to call me when I was about Layla’s age, just a little- nickname- sorry, I didn’t even  _ realise _ -” 

She gave a little laugh, pouring some water into the mug of tea she was making him. “No, no, it’s fine! I just only ever hear that word in relation to spindles- I was a bit confused as to why you were calling my daughter sewing equipment!” 

Fitz let out a breath audibly, nodding and laughing along. “Okay, thank god- didn’t want you to think me a creep or anything. I’m not a creep.”   


“Sounds like something a creep would say,” she teased, bringing the tea over along with some sugar and milk. “You can go sit down, you know, I’ll bring this to you.”    
  
“It’s fine, really- I can take it over to.. whatever table I decide to sit on. Nice Doctor Who mug, by the way- do all your mugs have cool designs?” He was quite enamoured by the cool mug, actually, wondering where he could buy one for himself. 

“All our mugs are ones we’ve brought in from home or spares we’ve found- that mug was one I brought in. I take it you like Doctor Who, then?”   
  
“Like it? I love it!” A wide grin broke out on his face as he opened a packet of sugar to pour into the tea. _Pretty_ and _likes Doctor Who? She’s something else._ He ignored the involuntary thought in favour of pouring in another packet of sugar. 

“I used to watch all of the classic episodes with my dad when I was younger- he’d try to get the tapes from Blockbuster when it was still around. What about you?” She was making the mystery sandwich now, layering things and putting things on that Fitz couldn’t see. 

“Ah, no- I was the only one really interested when I was younger so I just watched them on my own when I could.” He decided that was probably a satisfying enough answer, definitely deciding to keep his mouth shut about anything to do with his dad for now. This near stranger did  _ not  _ need to hear about his parental problems. 

“I can’t wait until Layla is old enough to watch a season with me properly! I think it’s so important to share your passions with the people around you, especially younger ones.” She brought the sandwich over on a plate, placing it with Fitz’s other goodies. “There you are! Would you like help taking it to a table?” 

“It’s alright, really,” he assured, picking up one half of the sandwich, “I’m going to try this right here.” He took a big bite, chewing gleefully as he realised that it was a  _ really  _ good sandwich. Quite possibly the best he’d ever tasted. It was like this sandwich was wrapping him up in a nice warm hug, telling him everything was going to be okay forever. That sandwich was the nicest thing he’d ever had. He loved this sandwich. Fitz had never felt love like it before. He wanted to express all this to Jemma but he had his mouth full so settled for a really passionate thumbs up. 

“You like it? Good, I’m glad- it’s got prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella and just a  _ hint  _ of pesto aioli.” If she was smiling before, she was beaming now, clasping her hands together. 

“It’s  _ amazing _ , Jemma, thank you- how’d you manage to get it so perfect?”    
  
“I don’t know, really! I’ve always been told I know how to read people,” she offered, looking a bit more sheepish under his obvious praise. 

He reminded himself to stop being so  _ weird _ and put the sandwich down. “Reading people involved knowing their dream sandwich now?” They both laughed, smiling at each other and he realised just how lovely her eyes were. They were a rich brown and she had beautifully long lashes that he couldn’t stop looking at now he noticed them. A little part of his brain was telling him to be impulsive, to lean in and just kiss her- but the thought vanished soon after when he remembered he barely knew this woman. The moment was gone as somebody else made their way into the café. Fitz felt his cheeks heating up as he stepped back from the counter, mumbling another thank you as he took his cup in one hand and plate with sandwich and muffin in another and zoomed off to avoid any more awkwardness with Jemma. What a bloody idiot. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I appreciate it <3 Please leave a kudos or a comment if you'd like and you enjoyed this!


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